While I have consumed a decent bit of Wuyi Yancha, I really enjoy most of them, but I have had good and bad examples from every type of category, so it is hard to say I have a definitive favorite. Though if I want to ignore the fact that this is posted in Oolong, Jin Jun Mei can be pretty incredible and while I have not had many experiences I also have not had a bad experience.

First comes Bai ji guan. But I finished the limited amount of the only one that really blew me away. Bought 3 years ago at the Confucian Tea House in Beijing, I wish I had bought a lot more... It was the only example I've found of lihtly fired BJG, with those caracteristic "faded yellow" leaves with orange/brown edges. Light in taste but perfectly balanced and soooo long lasting in the mouth and throat.

Then I'd choose 198 (or Yao jiu ba if my memory's good). The only problem is finding this one (only encountered yet at Lu Shan http://www.lushan.fr/, a little french tea house). If you have alternatives, please feel free to PM me.

And for more casual drinking, Shui xian and Rou gui (from Lu Shan for the first and the half handmade version from EoT for the second).

And so many others to taste and discover....

Last edited by Fabien on Jan 15th, '13, 15:52, edited 2 times in total.

Yes Bai chi Guan is really a rarity. I ran out of it many years ago and still searching for the real stuff. I enjoy Beidou too and down to my last 50gms. The brewing of Beido is really religious ....pushing the bitterness to edge of the cliff whilst maintaining roundness is really an art to brew Beido..

I have some DHP but they can cost a leg, so for frequent brew, I blend some Wuyi ( a bit of Beido, Tie Loh Han and Rougui) to simulate the DHP.

Most of my Wuyi tea was bought some time ago and nowadays could hardly get the good stuff. Mind you, the different in cost of the same tea can be really big and in the end it is the quality that justify the cost.

These few days I enjoyed the 90s Buchichun and also some aged Pan Tien Yau. The cliff rhythm of the Pan Tien Yau can make the mind goes misty.

Teaism wrote:
Yes Bai chi Guan is really a rarity. I ran out of it many years ago and still searching for the real stuff. I enjoy Beidou too and down to my last 50gms. The brewing of Beido is really religious ....pushing the bitterness to edge of the cliff whilst maintaining roundness is really an art to brew Beido..

I have some DHP but they can cost a leg, so for frequent brew, I blend some Wuyi ( a bit of Beido, Tie Loh Han and Rougui) to simulate the DHP.

As I understand it, beidou #1 is one of several allegedly "pure" dahongpao varietals. Some people argue that the "real" dahongpao was actually replaced a long time ago.http://houdeblog.com/?p=111

A lot of "dahongpao" on the market is blended, so your beidou #1 is probably more "pure" dahongpao than most things you will buy. When pure dahongpao is sold, it is usually qidan, beidou #1, maybe one other, so I would just drink your beidou #1 as it is, unless you like the way it tastes blended more.

I have had good luck with the 5 Star baijiguan (I tried the 2011 Buddha Country Cliff; have the 2012 one, but haven't tried it yet). Baijiguan will usually be pretty expensive, and the taste takes some getting used to. I find that sometimes it's a little mild in taste, and sometimes there's a little bit of straw / hay taste. There are higher fired versions, but most baijiguan I've had is medium oxidation and very light roast. There should usually be a surprising amount of yellow in the color if it's not a heavily roasted sort.

wyardley wrote:
A lot of "dahongpao" on the market is blended, so your beidou #1 is probably more "pure" dahongpao than most things you will buy. When pure dahongpao is sold, it is usually qidan, beidou #1, maybe one other, so I would just drink your beidou #1 as it is, unless you like the way it tastes blended more.

I have had good luck with the 5 Star baijiguan (I tried the 2011 Buddha Country Cliff; have the 2012 one, but haven't tried it yet). Baijiguan will usually be pretty expensive, and the taste takes some getting used to. I find that sometimes it's a little mild in taste, and sometimes there's a little bit of straw / hay taste. There are higher fired versions, but most baijiguan I've had is medium oxidation and very light roast. There should usually be a surprising amount of yellow in the color if it's not a heavily roasted sort.

Yes agree with you that a lot in fact most of DHP is blended. Beido#1 ceased to be available as they are use to blend for higher grade "DHP".

I am lucky to have friend who collected the DHP in early 90s and occasionally (actually rarely but sometimes) we brew it. It cost around US 1500 per kg then in early 90s.

I like the light roasted Bai Chi Guan. It is a tea that is really hard to fake as the brewed leaves is very obvious in its appearance. Nice to hear that you have some of it and enjoying it.

I spent 2 weeks in Hong Kong and Taiwan searching for good tea last December but really hard to find good stuff as the China tea consumer is going upmarket. Sigh!

I have been fortunate to been invited to drink an aged da hong pao cake (late 70s, early 80s, the owner doesn't remember, big thank you from here Tony ) which send me straight to the heaven realms. How pure was it? Who cares really, it was very nice and was loaded with good mature Qi. Aside from that, of all the wuyi teas I have tried I enjoyed the commercial DHP purchased from Postcard Teas and Bai Ji Guan from TeaSpring...if I have to pick one would be DHP.

The problem I find is accessing these teas online and catered to the Western market...how good are they compared to the ones found in shops in Chinese speaking communities in Asia (mainland China, Taiwan, HK, KL, etc.) is something I would like to know.